Τhe young girl was following her every day route, following the same road. It
was a habit that she never gave up and didn’t want to change. Lately the weather
was rainy and moody. Though it wasn’t so cold she felt a slight chill as she was
walking silently in the empty and deserted street. She held her cape closer
around her body and she felt better immediately. Spring time would come soon and
she was certain the sun would shine warm again. In a while she would reach her
destination but today also, she would make a short stop, for a few minutes, only
to watch him from afar like she did every day.

She fetched outside the big
railed gate and hid behind the trees so he wouldn’t be able to see her. She
stood there, still, for a while. Right after that, she pushed away the leaves
using her hands and started searching with her eyes. She saw him in the back,
holding a white rose in his hands.

That boy was there every day, repeating
the same moves. She was observing him daily while she was passing by on her way
to work. The procedure was always the same. She was hiding for a while and
watched him as he was gardening his roses. The garden was huge and must had,
at least, ten different species of those flowers. The young man was showing a
special devoutness and love towards them and was planting them on the ground
pushing them gently with his hands. Then, he was watering them slowly, cropping
those he had planted formerly and cleared the area, removing the wild grass and
the unwanted visitors.

She wasn’t aware of what was so appealing to her to
make her stand there every morning only to see those moves of his. It was like
she had a rendezvous with him, only to experience that special, secret
interaction. That day she saw him planting that white rose he was holding.
She was certain that, by the spring coming, it would blossom, bloom and would
give more beauty to the garden.

In her effort to watch even clearer between
the leaves, she stumbled and accidentally stepped on a branch that was right
behind her. The clatter scattered tensely the morning’s silence. She left almost
running, afraid that he would find her and went on running until she reached the
end of the street At once she took the turn into the narrow alley. She cut way
through the small path that crossed the woods and later she found herself in the
central town street.

She was trying to catch her breath and was still shaken
up when she arrived outside the store’s entrance. Mrs Simmons did notice her
anxiety immediately and expressed her curiosity.

-“Candy! What is
happening to you and you look like this? No matter how fast you were running on
your way here, you still managed to be late,” she scolded her.

-“My most
sincere apologies Mrs Simmons.”

Candy ran inside to join to the
laboratory with the other girls. They were all sitting in front of their
machinery and were making, one by one, little souvenir statuettes, meant to be
sold in the store. That job might look easy, but the truth was that it was
demanding as far as concentration and skills were concerned. She was working
with the clay much better than all the other workers there. That was the reason
why she was working at that production line. There were other girls that were
involved only with the colouring part, they had their fingers covered with paint
by the end of the day. Candy was returning home covered with mud, but she
couldn’t care less. She loved her occupation even though it was very tiring and
monotonous to make the same pattern over and over again.

Many times she felt
the desire to create something different, but that was impossible. The store’s
designs were very specific. The couple of the young shepherd and his beloved
one, a boy that was offering an apple to a young girl, a fairy covered in
flowers and other traditional local scenes. Her tiny hands were touching the
clay and were transforming it, from a shapeless maze, to a delicate figurine.
Those statuettes were most popular in the whole town. Every newcomer or visitor
would definitely drop by Mrss Simmons shop for a memento souvenir. When Candy
reached her sixteen, she was sent there from the orphanage in order to be taught
an art and earn enough money to cover her needs. She was grateful to Mrs Pony
and Sister Mary for taking care of that.

The hours were passing by in a
torturing slow pace and Candy felt like her right elbow was sometimes aching out
of exhaustion. Their break time was only once a day, so short that they only had
time to eat a single slice of bread, and then all the workers had to rush to
their seats.She took the way back slowly. She felt her heart pounding as she
was walking right outside the locked railed gate. She threw a quick glance but
he was nowhere to be seen. The roses stood all alone in the garden, declaring
his presence all around the place. A light was fading away from the back of the
house and there was no way to define a human silhouette in there. So she
continued her march to the small room that was given to her temporary by the
church. Sooner or later she would leave that place. Mrs Pony had sent her a
letter recently, informing her that someone that was interesting in marrying
her, had came along.

Candy was an orphan girl who didn’t have many choices in
life. She was always obedient and loyal to what the nuns, who had raised her,
were telling her. They had sent her there to be taught independence and to
become a completed person. She held the money she was gaining in a small iron
box underneath her bed. Dinner was on the church so she didn’t have almost any
expenses. When she would return to the orphanage she would give Mrs Pony all of
it, all the money she had managed to keep so far, in order to help raising the
other orphans whom she considered as brothers and sisters of hers.

Even so,
she had agreed to an upcoming marriage with someone, a good man, who would be
able to cover her basic needs. And now she felt very glad with the news that was
included in Mrs Pony’s letter. She really enjoyed working, but Mrs Simmons was
very strict and sometimes cruel and bad tempered towards her workers. Most of
them were poor girls that had to work there to be able to support their
families. Freedom of expression was unthinkable. What they were making was only
for the cause of marketing and for Mrs Simmons to gain more and more
money.

It was already very late when she entered her room. She removed the
dress she was wearing and put on another clean one. Right after doing so, she
rushed into the church hall were the dinner was served. She sat again with Mrs
Whitman, who was homeless, and kept her company. Every night she was reading to
her a book, usually a romance story.

Later she returned to her room and lit
up a candle to brighten up the area. She putted on her long white nightgown and
after she said her prayer, lay on her bed. She pulled the covers up to her
neck and closed her eyes. The vision of a young blond boy with blond hair and
blue eyes was grating in her mind. What calmed her down, was the thought of
the next morning when she would be seeing him again.

*******************

Every morning was the same,
every day the story repeated itself. Candy’s only expectation in life was every
single upcoming dawn, when she knew that she would be seeing him again. He was
there, every day, every morning and waited for her, without being aware of it.
Her job was always tiresome, but Candy didn’t mind. She was slipping her hands
softly upon the wet clay and went on creating in an unstoppable pace. One image
had entered her mind; it was his vision, holding in his hands in a unique way,
one single rose. Her wish was to create something like that; it was a thought
that was uplifting her senses. She was certain that if she would try, she would
succeed in making his figure along with his beloved rose.

That was an
absolute insane idea and Mrs. Simmons definitely wouldn’t allow her to do such a
thing. But what if she would ask for permission to work on it during her lunch
break? Maybe that wouldn’t be troublesome since she wouldn’t waste time from her
working hours. In the afternoon, by the time they had finished their shift,
she stood aside and waited impatiently to ask her.

-“Why are you standing
here looking at me like that?” asked Mrs Simmons.

-“You know, I’ve been
meaning to ask you for a big favour,” said Candy.

-“What do you want? A
vacation? I hope you’re not sick and spread any contagious disease among
us.”

-“But I don’t want to make it in order to sell it. I want to
create it for myself.”

Mrs Simmons was staring at her, Candy felt
confused about the meaning of that gaze.

-“So you want to make a
statuette and keep it for your own.”

-“Yes madam,” said
Candy.

-“And who is going to colour it for you?”

-“I’ll ask one of
the girls to do it, as a favour to me, during her lunch break also. I think
Dorothy will accept if I ask her to do so.”

-“Alright then. I’m giving
you the permission to create it. But there is something else
too…”

Candy’s heart was fluttering full of joy but Mrs Simmons hadn’t
finish her sentence yet.

-“What else is there?” Candy
asked.

-“You’ll have to pay for the material’s expenses. The clay you’ll
use and the colours as well. These things cost money you know.”

That was
unbelievable. She was asking money for a single tiny statuette. Candy was
working for her two whole years and she had never asked for anything. And either
way, the salary was so low on its own.

-“How much?” asked
Candy.

-“I will able to tell when I see it completed. I can not calculate
in advance.”

-“Fine.” Candy replied. “I’ll pay you for the cost of the
materials,” She murmured facing down.

“That’s good. Is there something
else you want now?” she asked.

-“No, thank you very much.”

-“If
that’s so, go on, move it, it’s getting quite dark. If something happens to you,
we’ll be in lots of trouble,” said in a demanding way while shaking her finger
back and forth in front of Candy’s face.

That night, while sitting back
on her bed, she thought that she didn’t mind giving away money for her little
statue. The only thing that mattered was the fact that she could finally make
something of her own inspiration and that it would belong to her. In the future,
when she would leave that place she could take it along with her.

****************

Break time had already started.
All the girls had gone outside to take a breath of fresh air, and only Candy
stayed behind, in her machinery, preparing a brand new piece of clay. She
mixed the mud and poured some extra water in the hole she had made the middle.
Her delicate fingers were embracing that maze, like this was a part of a
spiritual ceremony. She moved her feet while in the same time she was giving
shape to her small treasure carefully. A few minutes later, the basic pattern
was ready. With a small piece of wood she went on detailing the hair, the eyes
and the silhouette. The hardest part was to construct the tiny rose. She made
the petals slowly, one by one, and placed them together, adding right under
above, the small curlicue that he was holding in his hand.

Her special
creation was complete. What was left, was to place it with the others statuettes
that were about to be put in the oven. She had already spoken to Dorothy about
it and the next day she would paint it with Candy’s colour preferences. By
the afternoon when she had finished working, she felt very happy and fulfilled.
She rapped the little statue gently in a piece of newspaper and carried it at
home, she wanted to gaze at it just the way it was, even colourless. By
night, when she slipped into her bed, she placed it near by; to her bedside. She
couldn’t wait for the time when it would be completely finished.

****************

She and Dorothy had stayed
inside during their break only to finish working on Candy’s statuette. Dorothy
had accepted doing so, in exchange for a bar of chocolate and a bag of caramels
that Candy was saving from the past Christmas she had spent on the
orphanage.Candy watched her mixing her paints and preparing to apply the
colour base. Dorothy was, without a doubt, the best in colouring and that was
the reason why Candy had chosen her.

-“What colour would you prefer for
his clothing?” Dorothy asked her.

Candy brought his image back in her
mind. Usually he was wearing dark-black trousers and on top a blue shirt. She
gave Dorothy the instructions, and the young girl got on it immediately. Candy
was observing while she was forming his expression in perfection. Gold hair and
blue eyes. And for the end, the rose was white, pure and beautiful. She was
feeling overwhelmed by her creation; it was exactly what she wanted it to
be. She gave it some time to dry properly and later she put it in a box and
made preparations to carry it safely when she would be leaving. When they were
about to exit the laboratory, Mrs. Simmons suddenly blocked her way
out.

-“Wait a minute. I want to see what you’ve made,” she
said.

-“Yes madam,” Candy replied and opened her package.

Mrs.
Simmons took the little statue in her hands. She raised it high and examined it
closely.

-“Hmm,” she murmured. “This statue is much better than I ever
expected. I don’t think that you’ll be able to take it after all.”

-“What
do you mean? It’s mine. You gave me permission to create it and I’ll pay you for
the cost.”

-“That won’t be enough I’m afraid. If I have this on the
shop’s window I’m sure it will be sold in a very high price. You’ll have to give
me as much money a good buyer would give.”

-“But Mrs. Simmons…” Candy was
about to burst into tears.

-“I’ll keep it here. If you want it you have
to pay what is worth,” she snarled.

Candy though about it. She was almost
asking for all of her savings. But those were meant to be given to the
orphanage. She just couldn’t give it for the statue that she had created herself.
She rushed outside and started running down the street full of anger
and pain while tears were pouring hot down her cheeks. She followed her usual
path to cut way. Suddenly, a sound was heard and scared her. Maybe it was some
kind of bird or an animal. Then it appealed to her like somebody was following
her and that thought made her start to feel panic. She sped up her pace even
more; she was sweating, and started to feel really afraid. While running she
didn’t notice a big branch that had fallen on the ground, stumbled on it, fell
down and hit her head hard. The last thing she faced was the figure of a limper,
blond boy that was staring at her in agony.

******************

Candy woke up after quite some
time not being aware of the place she was. She found herself lying on a huge,
soft bed with bedposts around it. She observed the surrounding area and couldn’t
help noticing that that the room was decorated in a very delicate taste and
expensive furniture. She tried to say something but she couldn’t get her
voice. There was great pain coming from her head; she moved her hand there and
touched it and that was when she realised that it was wrapped with a piece of
cloth.

The door opened and a middle aged man made his appearance, it didn’t
took her long to realize that he was actually a doctor. He looked straight in
her eyes and immediately started to examine her. He checked her head and focused
on her wound. Candy let a slight scream as she felt a sharp and tensed pain
while he touched there with his fingers. He actually didn’t seem to pay any
attention to her reaction.

-“You’ll get well,” he said simply and left the
room.

She decided that it was about time to get up and return to her room
but every time she tried to, she felt an unbearable dizziness. She fell back on
the bed once more, breathless.

Someone was knocking on the door. She didn’t
reply; she was so scared that she was trembling. Where was she? Who owned this
place? As she was not responding to the knock, the door opened and before her
now stood the boy with the roses.

She rubbed her eyes for a moment,
fearing that she might be dreaming, but when she reopened them he was still
there gazing at her.

-“Hello,” he said.

-“Hello,” replied
Candy.

-“You gave me quite a scare back there. I hope you feel a little
bit better by now. The doctor said that you’ll be alright.”

-“Thank you
for everything, but I have to go now,” she flattered.

-“I don’t think that
you’re in position for departing. I won’t allow you do so. Something even worse
might happen to you.”

Was that his house? Had he carried her all the way
through the railed gate? Did he crossed his whole garden and brought her here?
She couldn’t find the courage to ask.

-“What is your name?” he
asked.

-“My name is Candy. What’s yours?”

-“I’m Anthony Brown.” he
said. “Where do you live? What’s your family name?”

Candy didn’t feel
brave enough to answer to all these questions. She was very embarrassed. She
lied.

-“I’m not living here. My family is in New Orleans. I just came
here to visit an aunt.”

-“Who is she? Maybe my grandmother knows
her.”

-“I don’t think so. She just moved here herself.”

He didn’t
seem pleased with her answers, but he didn’t insist.

-“I’ll go and order
the kitchen to have some soup ready for you.” he said and left the
room.

She was feeling awful. How did she ever manage to mess things up so
badly? She had to leave this place before it was too late, before somehow, he
would be informed that she was observing him secretly every morning while he was
taking care of his roses. Was there a specific reason for him to cherish roses
so passionately? She would love to hear all about it.

She tried once more
and managed to get off the bed. She wore her shoes and on top of the chair she
saw her cape, placed it around her shoulders in a hurry and shyly open the door.
Nobody seemed to be there. Which way was the exit? She moved to the right
side of the hallway, praying to have taken the right direction. She reached a
stairway that led to a huge living room or what seemed to be more of a reception
hall. If she had calculated right, as soon as she would reach the central point
of that area, the door before her would be the main exit. She climbed down the
stairs in a hurry, checking for not to be seen by anyone. She went for the door,
opened it and suddenly found herself in front of the beautiful garden. The scent
rising up from the roses was making her feel a delightful dizziness. She wanted
to stand there for a while to admire them, but there was no time for that; she
had to leave before she caught someone’s attention. She went for the gate and
for her good fortune, found it unlocked, opened it carefully and ran to the
woods. Walking fast, she ended up to her usual path and later the road that led
to the church. She entered it and started looking immediately for Father
Quinn.

He went pale as soon as he laid his eyes on her.

-“For God’s
sake! What happened to you Candy?”

-“I had a minor accident. A good man
picked me up me and took care of me,” she explained.

-“You gave me quite
a scare there my child. Maybe we should call the doctor to check your
trauma.”

-“That won’t be necessary,” said Candy. “I’ve been already
checked by the doctor and he said that I’m fine.”

-“Alright then. At
least let’s step inside so you can have something to eat.”

-“Thank you
Father,” said Candy and kissed his hand in devotion.

Later that night,
Candy decided that she would give all her savings to Mrs. Simmons in exchange for
her statuette. She wouldn’t allow anyone to get her precious
treasure.

*****************

The next morning, after she
dressed up well and took care of her wound, she pull out from below her bed the
iron box where she kept her savings. She opened it and counted the money inside
it. She was certain that it the amount was enough. She really hoped that Mrs.
Simmons wouldn’t overcome her usual greedy self.

She put the money inside a
reticule she owned, passed it over around her neck and above all, wore her cape.
She went out on the street and followed her usual route. When she reached his
house she went and stood behind the trees, as always. He was there taking care
of his roses again. For a moment, Candy felt tempted to go and talk to him. But
she regretted the thought almost right away. Every time she stood there, staring
at him, she had that special emotion and felt her heart bounding in a
frenzy.

Time was passing by and she would be late for work. She didn’t want
to hackle Mrs Simmons, especially now that she needed to have her statue back.
She marched in a hurry and a few minutes later arrived at the laboratory but
before she got to start working, she hurried to meet Mrs Simmons.

-“I
want my statuette,” she said in a determinate voice with burning eyes.

She
removed her reticule from around her neck and placed it upon the bench. Mrs
Simmons opened it and started to carefully count the money. After she was
through with it she looked at her with a glance of satisfaction in her
eyes.

-“Alright. I’ll give it to you,” she said while putting the money
back on the reticule and hid it in her bosom. Candy turned to move for the
laboratory but Mrs Simmons stopped her.

-“Wait,” she ordered. “From today
on, you’re going to make more of these, the same pattern. We are planning to
start a new production line with these.”

-“No,” Candy sounded very
determined. “I cannot make another one like this. I simply cannot.”

-“Why can’t you? Of course you can.”

-“No!” Candy
yelled.

-“You are obliged to do as I say. Otherwise you’re going back to
where you came from.”

-“It will be better off me if I am to return to the
orphanage,” Candy replied rudely.

-“How dare you talk back to me?” Candy
couldn’t take any more of this. She didn’t reply, just ran fast, grabbed the
statuette box and rushed out of the store. Mrs Simmons followed her down the
street and started screaming.

-“Come back, you foolish girl. Come back
here at once!”

But Candy wasn’t listening. She had shut her ears, held
her precious possession tightly in her arms and was walking away as fast as she
could.

She was very ashamed. What would she say to Father Quinn? To Mrs
Pony and Sister Mary? The truth was that she actually didn’t care. She would
return to the orphanage. Either way, sooner or later, she would get married and
that would be the end of all.

She entered her room and locked herself inside.
With trembling hands, she opened the box and admired her unique special
creation. She wanted to keep it hers forever, to be able to have it in her
sights every single morning and keep the memory of the boy that was planting
those roses with such affection.

She was so distracted that didn’t notice at
first that someone was knocking on her door. Who knew that she was there at this
time of the day? She placed the statuette back to its box and rushed to open the
door. It was Sally, the girl next door that was working in a mill factory, and
she was holding a letter addressed to Candy.

-“This arrived for you
yesterday but I didn’t see you then. Father Quinn informed me that you were
injured yesterday and that you were taking the day off work.”

-“Yes,”
Candy answered.

-“I’m sick too,” the girl said.

Candy took the
letter, shut the door and looked closely for the name of the sender. That filled
her up with unexpected joy, it was from Mrs Pony. She climbed to her bed and
opened the envelope in great anticipation.

“Our beloved Candy,

We are
all doing well here in the orphanage and I have to admit that we’ve all missed
you very much. The lemon tree is starting to bloom in our garden and the only
thing that’s missing is your smiling face of yours while climbing on it. I’m
not sad because I know that I’ll get to meet you soon. You see, I’m writing to
you to inform you that finally, a fine man came along with a good profession,
who wishes to be married to a girl like you. Sister Mary showed him one picture
of you and he was delighted. It’s about Mr Joshua Smith, he’s 37 years old
and he works as a doctor. You and him, together, will share a easygoing and good
life my child. Everything is arranged so you have to notify Mrs Simmons that you
won’t be able to offer your services to her anymore. So start packing as soon
as possible and head back to our orphanage. It won’t be long after your arrival
that you’ll have the chance to meet your future husband. We have already
arranged for your marriage to take place at the last Sunday of March. I’m
very sure that you are thrilled with the news. Know that all the children are
sending their love and the are waiting for you.

You have all our love.Mrs
Pony and Sister Mary.”

As soon as she read it, Candy felt overwhelmed
with mixed emotions.

How strange life can be sometimes… That letter came
exactly the minute she needed it most. She had already quit her job and there
was no reason to inform Mrs. Simmons about anything. It was done, though in a
much different way than the one Mrs Pony was suggesting.They had already
agreed to her marriage with a stranger. It’s been such a long time since she had
compromise with the idea, and had convinced herself that all this was for her
own good. But now the time had finally come and he felt that she was dragging an
unbearable weight.

So far she didn’t had the chance to even see the man how
she was supposed to be married to. A doctor, according to the letter. But ..37
years old? That was a whole nineteen years difference between them… At least was
he, in a way, presentable? Would she manage to have feelings for him in the
future? Something similar like what she felt about Anthony, the boy with the
roses? She regretted making these thoughts. Mrs Pony, who was like a mother
to her, knew best what was to be done for her own good.

“You’ll be able
to share an easygoing and good life my child.”

That’s what she wrote and
Candy took these words into serious consideration. Her childhood years at the
orphanage were tough ones. She had never met her real parents. They had
abandoned her when she was only a few days old. She had everything she needed;
there was always there a plate with food on the table for her and some comfort.
The nuns were teaching them reading and writing, good manners and were always
preaching to the children God’s sayings. All these were considered enough to
raise them up to be nice people, but the truth was that the beloved nuns were
always counting on a good marriage for their girls.

While lost in her
thoughts, she decided that she had to start packing and return to the orphanage.
She was to fulfil her predestined future.She reopened the box and took out
her little statuette. She gazed at it and that brought tears into her eyes.
Maybe keeping it for her wasn’t the right thing to do. Maybe she owed to pass it
over to him.

What if she went to see him for the last time? She could give
him the statuette and farewell him forever. There was only one question she
needed to ask him. The reason that made him so font of those roses. She
couldn’t afford to waste more time. She would visit him afternoon and tell him
the truth thanking him for taking care of her the night before. She would give
him her creation as a present and then she would take the way back to the
orphanage.

****************

She had puton her best
dress, took care of her wound and brushed her hair until they shined. She raised
her pigtails high with her bands and then wrapped the package with a silver
paper she had kept from a Christmas present given to her. She was ready to go
and started walking feeling happy and satisfied. It didn’t took her long before
she found herself right outside the railed gate. That house, most of the times
appeared to be deserted and dark. She never understood why, a boy with his
looks, appeared to be so apart from the rest of the world.

She pushed the
gate open and headed for the front door, the same one that she had walked by the
night before, and knocked full of confidence. A young girl that seemed to be
a maid answered.

-“Yes please? What can I do for you miss?” she asked
politely.

-“I’d like to see Anthony,” Said Candy shyly.

She was
almost interrupted by the presence an old woman that appeared to the door. She
looked very strict and she gave Candy a frozen glance. The woman outfit seemed
to be delicate and expensive. A gold necklace was hanging from her neck and she
had her hair caught in an aristocratic bun.

-“Who are you and what
business do you have with Anthony?” she asked.

-“Pardon me,” Candy
stammered. “You know, I only wanted to see him for a minute.”

-“He’s not
here,” the woman retorted, and waved to the servant to move away. “Get in, I
would like to have a word with you,” she added.

Candy assumed that she
was fooled by her first impression of the lady and that she didn’t seem so be so
strict after all. At least she was polite enough to invite her in. She
entered and the woman pointed towards an armchair in the huge living room. Candy
sat holding tight her box, hoping that soon she would be seeing Anthony and give
him her present.

-“You are the one he helped last night, aren’t you?” the
woman asked.

-“Yes madam,” Candy replied.

-“The one that ran away
like a thief in the middle of the night,” the lady added.

-“I’m sorry,
you know…”

The woman interrupted her sounding really imposing.

-“I really don’t appreciate your act. But I can understand the reason to
it, and it makes total sense to me. You see, I’ve gathered information about
you.”

-“Information? What kind of information?”

-“I know all about
you. That you’re an orphan and that you were working at Mrs Simmons until
now.”

-“Yes, this is the truth.” Candy said.

-“Then, know that my
grandson can not be involved with girls like you.”

-“I find it difficult
to understand what you mean,” Candy said puzzled.

-“You understand me
perfectly well. I’m sure that you had planned that so called accidental incident
last night.”

-“I never planned anything. When I came to my senses I had
no idea of where I was.”

-“Stop lying to me!” the lady snorted. “Everyone
in this town knows who we are. There are many young girls that are after
Anthony, but he remains faithful to the memory of his only love. I won’t allow
any silly and irresponsible brat to play him along, only to get to his
money!”

But what was that talk all about? Candy couldn’t understand a
thing. That woman never gave her the chance to explain herself
anyway.

-“So you better leave now. If you wish, I can give you some money
in order to leave him alone.”

Candy had enough. She was so upset that she
was red all over.

-“I can not tolerate such an insult. “ she protested.
“I only came to give him a present and thank him for his kindness. That’s
all.”

-“I don’t believe you. Leave now!” said the woman in a loud
voice.

Candy couldn’t stand listening to this woman any more. Coming here
was a big mistake after all. She straightened up from her seat and moved to the
exit while tears had started to fall from her eyes.

She went outside and
shut the door behind her. She was about to start running when she heard a soft
tender voice coming from behind the trees.

-“Miss, wait a
minute.”

Candy turned to see the young maid that had answered the door
earlier.

-“What do you want?” Candy flattered.

-“Sir Anthony is
trying to gather information concerning you since last night. That poor boy has
been through a lot of suffering the past years, and when he brought you in he
was very worried that something serious had happened to you.”

Candy went
on crying but still was able to hear of what the servant was
saying.

-“Mrs. Elroy had her people do some research about you but said
nothing to sir Anthony about it. That is her usual tactic when a girl
interesting in him appears on the scene.”

-“I only came to give him
this,” said Candy and showed her package. “And to thank him for whatever he has
done for me.”

-“Give it to me and I’ll pass it over to him for sure,”
said the young girl. Candy wasn’t sure that she was to be trusted, but while
looking into her eyes, she got the impression of them being honest and pure. She
handed over the package.

-“Tell me please, where he can reach
you?”

-“There is no need for that. I’ll be out of this town soon. Just
thank him for me. Goodnight,” said Candy and turned away.

-“Hold on!
Isn’t there anything else that you want me to tell him on your
behalf?”

-“No,” Candy replied. She thought that when he finally opened
her present, he might understand all the unspoken words she wouldn’t never have
the chance to say to him.

**************

That same night, she sat right
next to Mrs. Whitman and read to her a romance story, the kind she liked.
Probably that was the last time she would do so, since Candy intended to depart
immediately the morning after. The hero of that story was a young man who
loved horses. He was kind like Anthony, though his preference was focused on
roses. Mrs. Whitman was never a talkative person but tonight she was commenting
all the time about the story. Candy was feeling very tired and she wanted to go
on her bed and lay down to sleep.

-“The description of that young lady
reminds me of a beautiful girl that used to live around here,” she
commented.

-“Really?” asked Candy.

-“Yes. Her name was… Elizabeth
I think.”

-“That’s a beautiful name,” said Candy.

-“That’s true.
She was as beautiful as her name. She had black dark hair and blue eyes. All the
young men had a crush on her but she had her eyes for only one boy.”

-“So
what happened next?”

-“Unfortunately, that beautiful rosebud got very
sick,” said Mrs Whitman in pain.

-“She got sick?”

-“Yes, and one
evening, as the sun was setting she was gone too.”

-“And what happened to
the boy she loved?”

-“He became a loner and didn’t want to see anyone. I
think he likes gardening flowers, he has a beautiful garden. These were her
favourite kind of flower…”

Candy without having to think more about it
she had started to mist. Was that Anthony, the one that Mrs Whitman had just
described? That was the reason of his isolation from the rest of the world? Had
he lost his beloved one? She recalled his grandmother’s words; she had told
her that he had remained faithful to the memory of his love. And later that
maid had said that he had suffered a lot.

-“What was his name?” she
asked.

-“His name is Anthony.”

-“Anthony...” whispered
Candy.

***************

The next day she had already
packed. She went to Father Quinn and asked for his blessing. He wished her the
best of luck and Candy got into the carriage that was waiting for her
outside. Late that night she had already arrived to the orphanage. Mrs Pony
and Sister Mary were delightful and welcomed her with joy.

They walked
inside and sat at the Mrs Pony’s small office. The children had fallen asleep
and Candy didn’t have the chance to see them. She would though the day
after.

Mrs Pony served hot tea and bread for Candy. That was exactly what
she needed; she didn’t have anything to eat during the whole
day.

-“Candy, I’ve started to sew your wedding dress,” said Sister
Mary.

-“Thank you very much Sister Mary.”

-“You don’t have to
thank me my child. I always do so when one of our girls is getting
married.”

-“Really, how does this man looks like? When will I have the
chance to meet him?”

-“Now that you’re here, we’ll notify him to come so
you’ll get to finally get to know each other. Candy my child; this is very
fortunate for you. And because of your good looks he went ecstatic when he saw
your photograph. Imagine that he insisted of coming to meet you in the place you
were,” said Mrs Pony full of excitement.

-“But I still have no clue about
his appearance...” Candy complained.

-“My child, he doesn’t have to look
handsome. He has all you’ll ever need for a happy life. He’s a doctor and he’s
paid well for his services. He has a house of his own. You’ll have lots of
children and you’ll be very happy.”

Why does she doubt it so much
lately?

-“That’s fine,” Candy said.

-“You better go to bed now,
it’s getting late child,” Sister Mary suggested. “You’ll see, God is great and
fair and you’ll be rewarded from now on.”

-“Goodnight Mrs Pony. Goodnight
Sister Mary.” Candy greeted and went for the children’s dorm. There was a spare
bed and Candy lay there trying to be discreet and not to wake someone up. She
shut her eyes and in her mind came Anthony. Why was he there, in her thoughts,
so frequently these days? Everything was over now. Did he ever receive her
present? Did the young maid deliver it to him? She couldn’t keep on
torturing herself with these thoughts. She closed her eyes and much later fell
asleep.

*****************

The morning after she got up
earlier than the others and started getting dressed. She was anxious to have a
lonely walk on her favourite hill. It was the place she always visited every
time she wanted to think or relax. She opened the door and ran across the
field and as soon as she reached her destination she lay on the ground. It
wouldn’t be much longer for the spring time to come; she could smell it all
around through in nature. She stayed like this for quite some time until the sun
raised and started to blind her.

Suddenly, she thought that she could see
the silhouette of someone heading towards her. Who could that be? It sure wasn’t
Mrs Pony neither Sister Mary. It was a young boy and it was approaching
her even more closely. Now she could see clear enough but when she realised who
he was she was sure she might be dreaming.

Anthony was walking fast to
get to were she was. He came closer and reached for her. In his hand he was
holding a white rose. He was dressed in the same outfit that Candy had seen him
so many times and he looked exactly as if her statuette had came to life, in
flesh and blood.

-“Good morning,” he said.

-“Good morning,” she
managed to say with shivering lips.

-“I wanted to give you
this.”

-“The rose?”

-“Yes.”

-And you came here just for
this?”

-“Yes,” Anthony said again.

He passed the flower to her,
touching softly her hand.

-“You created something for me so I named those
roses after you.”

-“You gave them my name?”

-“Yes. Sweet Candy.”

-“Sweet Candy...” she repeated. “How do you know that I made that
statuette?”

-“I’ve heard all about it. And I know that every morning you
were passing by and stopped to observe me.”

-“You really
knew?”

-“Yes, and that afternoon I was waiting for you on your way back,
so I could talk to you. But you were scared and ran off.”

-“So it was you
who was following me?”

-“I apologise for scaring you. I’ve been meaning
to explain myself but you ran away again. I didn’t know were you were staying.
By the time I got to know everything I wanted concerning you, you had vanished
once more.”

-“It took me a while, but I finally got to know everything about
you.”

-“I’m getting married…” said Candy. “That is why I came
back.”

-“Is that true?” he asked.

-“It’s true.”

Then he
moved closer to her, touched her hands tenderly and kissed them. Candy felt
unable to move. He bent over and placed his lips upon hers. There were so
many hidden feelings which that kiss had awaken... He held her tight in his
arms, she wasn’t able to react. After letting her go softly, he looked deeply
into her eyes.

-“Let’s go,” he said to her.

-“To
where?”

-“Let’s go to the church to get married.”

**************

Candy has her hands covered in
clay as she’s trying to shape the clay with her fingers tips. She’s looking
outside the window and sees the sun that it’s about to set. She thinks that
it’ll be a good idea to shape a bird, a bird with big open wings ready to fly
free in the evening breeze. At the moment she starts to move her hands softly
touching the clay, she feels a soft chill down her spine.

Anthony is
standing right above her. He tenderly moves away her hair with his hand, then he
leans over and gives her a sweet kiss right were her neck begins. She keeps
on cherishing the material that she holds between her palms. But in a moment she
forgets all about it. She forgets what she was planning to create, forgets the
bird and its big open wings.

She turns around and takes her beloved
one in her full of mud arms. She shuts her eyes to think that happiness can
simply be one single moment in life.